Bellator
BELLATOR NEWS: Carla Esparza replaces Angela Magana against Megumi Fujii at Thursday's Bellator 24
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Aug 9, 2010 - 11:41:26 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator's third season kicks off this Thursday, but there's already been a shakeup to the first event.

In the women's tournament, Angela Magana has been forced out of her bout with Megumi Fujii, and she's been replaced by 3-0 professional Carla Esparza, according to multiple published reports.

The new bout represents a massive disparity in experience, as Fujii enters the fight with a 20-0 record. Esparza was a two time All American wrestler in college, and all three of her fights have been finished by submission.

Bellator 24 kicks off the new season of Bellator on Fox Sports Net this Thursday.

Penick's Analysis: It's kind of surprising that the commission would sanction this fight simply due to the huge difference between the two fighters' records. Still, considering that high end women's fighters are still scarce in the growing sport, they're probably going on with the best replacement they've got available.

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